Movie of the week – The Witch
We’ve seen something of a revival of the horror genre lately and The Witch is the latest to push the boundaries of the form. Following a family of devoutly religious English settlers in 1630 America, the movie builds in atmosphere as they find themselves and their previously unquestioned faith torn apart by the presence of the titular hag. If you’re after cheap jump scares this isn’t for you, but if you want a movie that burrows itself into your mind and under your skin, you won’t see many better this year.
Anomalisa
Anomalisa is the tale of a motivational speaker who suffers from a condition that renders everyone’s voice identical until he meets an otherwise unremarkable woman whose voice he can distinguish. It may be shot using puppets, but it features two characters as human as you could imagine, and boasts arguably the most awkwardly realistic sex scene ever put on screen.
Traders
Traders is a low budget Irish production with a novel premise – everyday folk fighting each other to the death for money – but it suffers from its limited means. That said, the performances are enough to keep you engaged, but this is a good argument for a larger budget remake.
Allegiant
The third installment in the Divergent Young Adult series, Allegiant is the worst so far, due in no small part to splitting the final novel in two parts. It’s a tedious slog that can’t even be bothered carrying on the premise of the first two movies.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
